Back in Time
Edward Booth
I ambled onto my villa’s balcony and sucked in the fresh air. I sipped the last of my hot chocolate out of my mug and moved to my telescope, where I stood observing the stars.
Then, I saw something approaching through the sky out of the corner of my eye. It was a small star, plummeting towards the Earth. The star fell from the sky and collided with the end of my telescope, dropping to the floor. I crept gingerly towards the star but, as I got closer, I found myself dragged towards it by an inescapable pull. All of a sudden, I was inside the star, surrounded by complicated panels and dazzling lights. A bright green button pulsed in front of me. I couldn’t resist….I pushed the button and there was a blur of colour and a flash of energy.
A small opening appeared in the wall of the star. I stepped through the gap and found myself gazing at…dinosaurs! The star was a time machine! I felt microscopic: the dinosaurs were colossal. Then a blaring roar thundered towards me. It was a T-Rex! I knew I was doomed. I hurtled away at lightning speed, but the T-Rex followed me. I slid down the neck of a Diplodocus. Fortunately, the time machine was right in front of me. I desperately leapt upwards and soared through the air. I plunged down and landed head-first inside the time machine. I frantically smacked a red button to close the door. In the nick of time, me and the time machine were zooming through history. I landed in the time of Henry VII. My teachers at school say he was a dull man, so I immediately closed the time machine door.
Next, the doors fell ajar to reveal the Stuart era. Then, I felt something feathery scamper around my trousers. It was the prehistoric pigeon: the last dodo! I plonked him in my rucksack and zipped it up. I asked a peasant what year it was and he said “1666”. I remembered the Great Fire of London had happened that year. I rushed back to the time machine and shut the door. Again, off we went, racing through the past.
I randomly ended up in the Victorian age. I tried not to inhale the unwholesome air as I pottered through a market. It was teeming with people: short people with velvet waistcoats, tall and lanky people with pocket watches dangling out of their pockets, and old people with wrinkly faces, walking sticks, and bushy beards. Someone yelled at me “Get back to your chimney sweeping!” I scurried away and he followed me. I ran back to the time machine and slammed the door shut. I arrived back home in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.
I told Mum the tale of my time machine, dinosaurs, dodos, and Victorians. Mum told me it was all a dream. Then, as if by magic, my rucksack opened and a beak poked out. “Squawk!”